Method of obtaining values from copper-bearing material.



H. P. ,WIERUM METHOB 0F OBTAINING VALUES PROM COPPER BEARING MATERIAL.

l APPLIAIIN FILED DEO. 29, 1911. 'BENEWED 00T. 30, 1912. 1,063,486.

Patented June 3, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

H. P. WIBRUM. METHOD 0F OBTAINING VALUES PROM COPPER BEARING MATERIAL.

A APPLIOATION FILED DEO. 29, 1911. RENEWED 00T. 340, 1912.

1,063,486. Patented June 3, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l attenant-5' nrrED sfrATns PATENT onirica.

HOWARD F. WIERUM, 0F UPPER MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

METHOD OF OBTAINING VALUES FROM COPPEIIBEARING MATERIAL.

absence;

Speccation of Letters `'.Patcz'it.

Patented June 3,1913;

- .Application filed December 29, 1911, Serial No. 668,507. Renewed (Bctober 3G, 1.912. Serial No. 725,731.

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, HOWARD F. WIERUM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Upper Montclair, in the county of Essex and-State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Obtaining Values from Copper Bearing Material, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXact description.

rlhis invention relates to a metallurgical opera-tion which involves the subjection to novel conditions of matte formed in a 'blast or smelting furnace for the production of copper, nickel, 4or other analogous metals, commonly obtained from sulfid ores.

The process, therefore, has for one of its I objects the pro-duction of metallic copper,

nickel, or similar metals, or the production -of a higher grate matte (or white metal) than is ordinarily made in such blast or smelting furnaces.

Hereinafter reference will only be made to a copper blast furnace but it is intended to cover thereby any analogous blast fur;

nace operation for the production of any metal which forms a matteo'r the matte of such metal.

Another object' of my invention is to AoXidize. a larger proportion of the iron,

present inthe ore or otherwise introduced, to FeO, and further to oXidiZe a greater percentage of the sulfur present to SO2, than `'has heretofore been common nur even possible in copper blast furnace fractice. A further object is to conserve the heat produced by the oxidation of the iron and sulfurand totherebysave the expense of a portion of the carbonaceous fuel used inv copper blast furnaces.

A. still furtherI object, and a very 1mportant one, is to enrich the gas, resultant from the smeltingA of copper and iron sulds, to a .higher percentage of SO.l therein. These and other objects of my invention v willbe'hereinafter' discussed and the novel fmea'ns and process whereby they maybe e'ected will be more particularly set forth in :the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings -I have 4exemplied two forms of apparatus whereby my do not desire to be limited to the forms .shown nor indeed to the process, other than as covered by the claims, since I am vaware that various .'modiicatmns andchanges may novel process may be eti'ectuated, but I be madein. bot-h the apparatus and process without departing front-:the spirit of my lnvention.

In the drawings in which like reference characters' designateflike parts .throughout the several views: Figure l is avert-ical section of a copper blast furnace, lthe sect-ion being taken on line I-I of Fic'. 2. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of said urnace, the section being taken on line II--II of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view, similar to Fig. l, of a modification, the section being taken on line III-III of Fig. 4. Fig. a is a section of the modified furnace taken on 4line P.IV-IV of Fig. 3. l

Referring iirst to Figs. and 2, the'uprightconverting blast furnace vtherein `column l, into the top of which is fed ore, matte, fuel and fiuX, which comprise Van ordinary copper blast furnace charge. The baiiie or feed plates for direct-ing this charge In the bottom of the column is the Crucible 3, preferably of magnesia brick or the like,

constitutesA the walls of this Crucible, or its lining, be basic in character.

The Crucible is aperturcd on one side as at- 4 to form a coppergtap hole,fand the opposite side is preferably recessed as at 5 to provide a slag tap hole, the latter delivering into the slag spout 6. The column and its Crucible are supported upc-n the usual sole plates 7, which in turn are carried upon the uprights 8', elevating the cruciblea convenient distance above the ground. The baie or feed plates 2 preferably just reach the charge floor level 9. lThe Crucible may extend the entire Vlength and width of theblast furnace, if desired, and may be of any suitable depth. It may be lined with basic brick, tile or rock, suoli asmagnesia or chrome, and such basic lining may, further, be protected from fusing, melting, combining, or in any way disintegrating, by having'water-jackets on the outside, or in contact therewith, these waterjackets being preferably the regular waterj'aclrets of the blast furnace. I also may provide conduit/s1() through the sole plates, which are connected to water pipes 11, so that the basic brick crucible or lining may be cooled from below as well as from the sides.v The usualiow pressure blast main into the furnace' have been designated 2.'

it being desirable that the material which shown comprises a water-jacketed stack or [18, andalso with preferably elongated receivers 19, which extend upwardly to the charge floor level l9. These receivers are I normally iilled, when in use, with silicous material, and .their mode of operation and function will be hereinafter considered. Equalizing pressurs pipes 20l extend upwardly from the high pressure main 18 to the tops `of the respective receivers 19; each pipe 20 4being provided with a valve 21; and each receiver being fitted with an air tight lid 22.. A series ofA pipes 23 connect the 20 main 18 with the respective twyer boxes 17;

and the flow of silica from the receivers into said boxes'. is -cont-rolled by valves or regulators 24.

The operation of thefurnace in question 25 is as follows: Assuming the furnace to have been ehargedin the usual manner with preferably lesscarbonaceous material in the lumn than is customary in copper blast u'rnaice. practice, and that the blast has been delivered through the smelting twyers 'afnficient length of time to have aecumulated. a suitable quantity of moltenmatte, rich in oxidizable fuel making constituents such as sulfur, iron, etc.; the, converting twyers are now utilized and a blast from the high pressure main 18 is delivered there-l through, bessemerizing the molten mass.

`The regulators 24 of the silica receivers, or a certain number of them, are opened the divided (fromif to 120 mesh) silicous oi1 other fluxing material isinjected into the body of molten matte by means of the blast delivered down the corresponding pipes 23; If fdesired, flue dust also may be injected directly into the body of molten 'matte in the crucible by means of some of the converting twyers, for example.

I am aware that it has been attempted to 3Q/introduce flue dust into' furnaces by means of a blast, but in so far as I am aware it has never been attempted to inject the flue dust below the surface of and directly into the body of molten matte or like material, in the crucible. The advantage of sointroducing more or less p ulverulent material is that it reduces dusting, by reason of the fact thatthe molten liquid holds the' dust once it enters such liquid, whereas if introduced above the liquid, a quantity of this dust is usually carried up through the furnace. I may add that the dust so introduced may be silicous in character, or in the nature of a flux; although dust or ores requiring flux may also 'be .introduced in desired amount and the preferably finely this fashion; in which case I may mix the luxing material with the relatively fine ore and feed the mixture in by means of a blast, or I may deliver such materials separately into the molten body. Ordinarily, lI prefer to feed the fluxing material separately, and, as is herein pointed out, there are particular advantages in so delivering silicious material or the like directly into the molten -matte when both the smeltingv and converting operations are conducted i n a blast furnace. The iron oxidized by the blast entering through these same twyers and others, combines with the so introduced l silica to form a silicate of iron, which rises to the surface of the liquid mass as slag. The suliids present inthe ore are oxidized, under the foregoing conditions, more completely than usual in copper blast furnaces, Y

a portion, at least, of the heat necessary to properly decompose, oxidize and melt these sullids being generated by the intense oxidation effected. i

I am aware that attempts have been made to introduce silica into the bath of matte in the Crucible of ablast furnace by providing such material in a column of ore which `is supposed to gradually feed down into the molten matte. difficulties, however,.in the way of effecting an equable distribution or regular supply of silica into the bath by this method. By reason of the means employed for introducing the silica or silicous matter, according :to the herein described process, however, it

is possible to regulate the quantity supplied to a nicety, and furthermore to -de- :liver it directly' into the body of molten matte, exactly where needed.

There are obvious The converting twyers should of course @be made of sufficient size to readily deliver lthe blast of mingled air and silica or the like, and in practice I prefer to make these twyers of from QL to l-lf diameter. They are preferably arranged horizontally and at a suiiicient distance below the smelting twyers to bring them below the surface level lof the liquid matte .therethrough may; be of from, let us say, .six to fourteen pounds per square inch. I 'am awareV that attempts have been' made to use this combination of smelting and con- 'vertingtwyersand I do not claim such combination broadly. To the best of my knowl- The blast delivered edge however metallurgical processes of the lcharacter in question, and involving the use of both smelting and converting twyers have never been completely successful, and

:this I. believe to be due to the fact that the -iron oxid formed by the blast has not been iuxed oif properly. There are distinct advantages to be gained by utilizing in a blast furnace this arrangement of smelting and convertlng twyers 1n con]unct1on with the introduction of silicous or acid matter by incense the convertingblast. This provision in a copper blast furnace of sineltingetwyers, converting twyers and means for introducing silicous or acid matter into the bath, through the converting twyers, is believed, further, to be broadly new.

rEhe smelting and converting operations may be successive or continuous, and in fact even practically simultaneous; and the provision of the water cooled basic vlining in `connection therewith, is, it mayv here be noted, particularly beneficial.

The slag as it accumulates may be drawn off from the slag spout 6 and allowed to settle in the settler 25, while the copper or rich matte may be tapped off, as usual, from the tap hole fi.

rf'he receivers 19 may be filled with sili clous material directly from tlie'charging floor and the said material descends by gravity through these tubular structures until it falls into thetwyer-boxes 17. The blast delivered through the pipes 23 is suiiciently high to forcibly eject such of the material as falls into said twyer boxes immediately into the body of molten matte. rlhe equalizer pipes 20 serve to balance the uptivard pressure of the converting bla-st upon the column of siliciou's matter so that it is.free to fall when are opened. l

ln Figs. l and 2, t-he furnace is substantially symmetrical with respect to the section'lines l-l, l-II, which in this instance are also center lines. 4, however, l have illustratedv a furnace which is not so symmetrical. Herein, the parts designated by like characters to those shown in Figs. l and 2 need not be dis cussed since they perform substantially identical functions. The silica receivers are, in this instance however, merely tank-like containers 19 'which deliver into nipples 26, which in turn open into injector pipes Q7 `The high pressure main 1S delivers its blast via pipes 28 directly into the -twyer'bo'xes 17, but in the present case this blast does not iject the silica; a supplemental blast being provided, the compressed airmain 29 of which isin communication by means of pipes 30 with the injector pipes 27. Equalizin pipes 31 are here also preferably provi ed, and for similar reasons. The furnace too is constructed somewhat-differently in that in this form of apparatus a bridge 32 of refractory brick, or the like, preferably the valves orugates 24 basic, spans the crucible from one side to,

which substantially conthe other thereof, 'fines the converting to one end, e., the copper tap hole end of the furnace,'as sho-wn in Fig. 4l, no converting twyersl being located between this bridge andthe slag hole.

The passage under the bridge permits the enriched matte or copper and gradually accumulate adjacent the copable, that ,the amounts of sulfur gases, vsuch Ias sulfur dioXid and tri-oxid, formed lin the evolved In Figs. 3 andto flow through.

per ta hole .while anyl sla which will be forme in the copper tap fiole end of the furnace will How over the bridge to the slag tap end. This construction is a particularly advantageous one, in that it permits of a continuous and practically even flow of slag towardthe slag spout, if desired, the disturbance due to the converting blast not materially affecting this flow, and the absence of all disturbance due to the converting tunity for any included shots of matte to settle out," to a certain extent, before the slag is discharged from the furnace. It may be further stated that the intense heat generated by the converting, being imparted to whatever slag is immediately superincumbent on the bath' of matte being converted,

renders this slag unusually fluid and favorable for settling purposes. sireto particularly direct attention to the enrichment of the gases given off from the furnace. It, frequently happens in furnaces of this description and with the ores obtain- Finally, I deusual manner (largely above the mass of matte) when mingled withthe other gases are so diluted as to be too poor to be available for economical utilization. A considerable amount of sulfur remains in the matte which might be used to enrich this gas were it but possible to obtain it. This enrichment is rendered possible by the intr0 duction of the silicious or fiuXing material 10g in the' manner described and, if desired, practically or nearly all, of this residual sulfur may be oxidized n situ and the sulfur. gases thus formed may be allowed to pass'. upwardly through the melt to mingle with the regularly formed gases. 1

. By this Iprocess therefore even ores poor in sulfur may be made to yield gases during their treatment `in the blast furnace which' are sufficiently rich to warrant subjecting 310' the same to. known processes, where necessary, for producing sulfuric acid and the like, for use in certain metallurgical proc. esses, such as sulfating, and for use in the sulite Wood pulp business. I

n" the appended claims I have termed any metal, such as copper, which is capable of forming .a mattewhen smelted, a matte` forming metal; while the term sulfur gas is intended to cover any gas containing sul-V fur as a constituent thereof.'-

Having described my invention, l claim:

1. The process of operating a blast furnace which comprises smelting a mass conn taining a matte forming metal therein top1g5 form matte and treating this matte in the same receptacle with vsilicious material by injectin said material directly into the molten ody of the matte by duid pressure.

' 2. 211e metallurgical processwhich com# 130 of matte 'by Huid. pressure.

pri'ses smeltingv a mass containing a matte' converting blast.

4. The metallurgical process which comprises smelting a mass. containing a matte forming metal to form matte, and simultaneously subjecting said matte to a converting blast laden with fluxging material.

' gases from said furnace by admixing 5. The metallurgical process which comprises smelting a mass containing a matte forming metal to form matte and simultaneously subjecting said matte to a converting blast laden with silicious material. 25 i 6. The metallurgical process which comprises smelting a mass containing copper to forni copper matte, and in the same receptacle subject-ing this .matte to a converting blast laden with fluxing material. 30 1 7. The metallurgical process which comprises smelting, a mass containing copper to forni copper matte, and in thev same receptacle subjecting this matte to a converting blast laden with a material of greater density-than that ofthe fluid of the blast.

8. The metallurgical process which coinprises sinelting a mass containing a matte forming metal to form matte, besseinerizing this mat-te by subjecting portions only of a bath of the'same to a converting blast, establishing 'separate and oppositely flowing streams of slag and molten material containing said metal in said bath and maintaining said streams separate and distinct by spacing them apart for a portion of their length.

9.. The process of operating a furnace which comprises smelting a mass of or'e therein, introducing by fluid pressure a substance, capableof reacting with a constituent of said mass, into the melted portion of said'mass, below the fluid level of said portion, effecting a reaction in which the'said constituent of the mass and said substance participate whereby to produce an enrichingl gas, and enriching the othler tie said gas therewith.

1 0. The process of operating a smelting Copies of this patent may be obtained' for furnace which comprises smelting a mass of sull'id ore therein, introducing by lluid pressure a'iluxing material, capable of reacting with a constituent of said mass, into the melted portion of said mass, below the fluid .level of said portion, edecting a reaction in which the said constituent of the mass and said vmaterial participate whereby to produce a sulfur gas, and enriching the other sulfur gases from said furnace by admixing the said lgas therewith.

' 11. The process of operating a smelting furnace which -comprises smelting a mass of sulid ore, introducing by fluid pressure a silicious material capable of reacting with a constituent of said mass, into the melted portion of said mass, below the fluid level of said portion, effecting a reaction in which the said constituent of the mass and said silicious material participate, whereby 4to produce a sulfur gas, and enriching the other sulfur gases from said furnace by admixing said gas therewith. p

12. Thev process of operating a smelting furnace which comprises smelting a mass of sulid ore therein, introducing by a 'converting blast a iiuxing material, capable of reacting with a constituent of said mass, into the melted portion of said mass, below the fluid level of said portion, effecting a reaction in which the said constituent of the mass and said material participate whereby to produce a sulfur gas, and enriching the -other gases from said furnace by adinixing the said sulfur gas therewith.

13. The metallurgical process which coniprises smelting` a mass containing a matte forming metal to form matte, subjecting this matte to the action of a converting blast while in the same receptacle and introducing fluXing material into the molten body of matte, below the surface of said matte, by 'fluid pressure. l

Y 14. The metallurgical process which coinprises snielting a mass containing a inatte forming metal to foi-in matte, subJecting this matte to the actioncf a converting blast while in the same receptacle, and introducing fluxing material directly into the molten body of matte, and below the surface thereof, through the instrumentality of said converting blast.

' In witness whereof, I subscribe my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

. HOWARD F. VVIERUM.

`Witncssesz WALDO M. Ci-IAPIN, WILLIAM C. Laar.

ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latenti, Washington, D. C. 

